President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, Aug. 18 that Kyiv and Brussels are working on finalizing a Drone Deal, following talks on bilateral defense and diplomatic cooperation.
Zelensky detailed the meeting in a statement on Telegram, saying that he held discussions with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, covering nearly all areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries.
“I expect that we will be able to implement what we discussed, and that protection against Russian strikes will increase,” Zelensky said, adding that “Ukraine is also ready to share its experience and expertise and to support partners who have stood with us since the start of the war.”
Continued support from Belgium and EU path
Zelensky praised Belgium for allocating more than €1.1 billion (roughly $1.3 billion) in support to Ukraine already disbursed this year, along with Belgium’s backing of Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership.
“Belgium provided significant help in strengthening our combat aviation in the past, and we appreciate its continued readiness to support us,” Zelensky said.
On June 29, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense launched a new state platform project, “Trophylab,” underscoring its commitment to sharing its technology and battlefield expertise with allies.
“TropyLab” essentially turns captured Russian weapons into a shared research base for both domestic experts and international partners, centralizing data from Ukraine’s Defense Forces units, the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), alongside other scientific institutions.
Such projects help allied nations build their own systems to detect and neutralize possible Russian weapons, particularly as NATO countries increasingly prepare for Russia escalating its hybrid warfare campaigns or the conflict spilling beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Their meeting comes as Ukraine prepares both its residents and air defenses for the upcoming winter, with authorities widely expecting Russia to target critical infrastructure, possibly shifting focus from the power grid to the water supplies.
Ukraine signs Drone Deals with EU
Ukraine signed a Drone Deal agreement with Denmark on July 7, marking the country’s ninth such agreement for Kyiv as it continues expanding its network of joint defense production partnerships.
The agreement was reached on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on the same day.
During the same meeting, Zelensky also discussed advancing work on a European anti-ballistic missile capability with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Around the same time, Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump on the NATO summit sidelines, where Trump floated granting Ukraine a license to domestically produce its own Patriot interceptors, the only weapons capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Just weeks later, Trump softened his earlier commitment, saying he remains “not sure” about granting Ukraine the license.
On July 15, Ukraine officially signed a Drone Deal with the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the agreement sends a clear signal that now is the time to invest in Ukraine, and, by extension, in Europe’s broader security.
Japan weighs joining the initiative
Ukrainian authorities held a series of meetings during the week of Aug. 10-16 with Japan’s outgoing ambassador, discussing equipment donations, heating infrastructure ahead of winter, and Japan’s possible role in Ukraine’s Drone Deal initiative.
The meetings came as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed Kuril Islands for the first time in his 26-year tenure, escalating an already bitter territorial row with Japan, whose relations with Moscow have deteriorated further since Tokyo joined Western sanctions against Russia.